Ronin Eininfar
"When Ronin smiles, it usually means something is about to die." ''- Fearthegn'' Lord Ronin Eininfar is a wood elven ranger who arrived in Beldin some time in 1377. He is the highest ranked knight of Beldin, possessing the Order of the Mythal, and is one of the founding members of the Order of Astrid Knights , of which he is the general of its army, as well as the head of S.A.B.E.R. He is married to Vaune Nasadra and has seven children. Ronin is played by Taurus Daggerknight. Names & Titles Ronin has gone by several names over the years. His birth name was Oda-Khan Eininfar . To most of the world, he is known as Ronin Eininfar. To the drow of the Kareyn valley, he is known as Streeakan Nasadra. In Mesteranial, he is called Langren. He is a knight of Beldin, bearing the title Sir Ronin of the Order of the Beldin Mythal, making him a knight of the highest order. Along with this, he is the General of Astrid Keep . Along with these titles, he also earned the rank of Nobilty in 1412. In 1413 he was nominated as the head of Beldin's new intelligence agency by King Gerald Leonsmane . Popular nicknames attached to him by the denizines of the valley include; the Butcher, the Bladed One, The Elf Psychotic (or simply "psychotic elf"), Honorary Drow and The Marked One. History Ronins parents hailed from the distant lands of Kara-Tu, but eventually settled in an isolated town near the Spine of the World. 'Arrival in Beldin' Ronin had come to Beldin quite accidentally; he was retreating from the site of his last encounter following a particularly disastrous defeat at the hands of his former mentor, Ordin. As he ran through the streets from his enemy, his wolf, Barnabas, detoured and leapt onto one of the docked vessels. Trying to get him back, Ronin followed, just as the ship began to set sail. This ship just so happened to belong to a certain captain Fearthegn, who had come to the city as a recruiter. Immediately upon arriving in Beldin, Ronin set to work acquiring equipment and coin to make up for the loss, and begin gathering the resources needed for the next encounter. In the process, however, he was dragged into the troubles of Beldin. At first this was simply in the form of the Adventurers Guild’s missions, but just weeks after his arrival, he met with the dark elf named Vaune Nasadra . Based on the simple fact of his having spoken to her, the Aurrilite spies in the city determined that he must have been an agent of the crown, and so sent their assassins after him just as they had nearly every other adventurer. All of these attempts were rebuked, and all of them just encouraged him to get more and more involved in efforts to combat them. The coin earned from combating the Aurilite threat also held his attention. Initially, his dedication to Beldin’s cause was limited, though Vaune managed to keep him on the cities side with promises of aid against Ordin. Overtime, the two goals – fighting for Beldin and hunting down Ordin- became intertwined, as the monk had not only taken over the Black Stilettos assassin guild, but also worked very closely with the Aurrilites. This more or less ensured Ronin’s involvement in the wars, during which Vaune lived up to her promise by not only helping the wood elf track down the monk, but also forging and enchanting weapons that could break through the power of Menegeld . With these arms, Ronin killed his mentor after three vicious battles. Shortly after the final duel, word reached him that three warriors from his former home- including his nemisis, Marko Ta'an- were all alive and in Neverwinter. Seeking to stop his past from causing Beldin- and the friends he had made there- any more harm, he decided to seek them out and tie up all loose ends. Vaune – whom he had become engaged to at this point- traveled with him, and after the situation in Neverwinter was resolved, they ventured to the Eilistraeen enclave in the High Forest, where they were married. The duo would return to Beldin after this, where they would continue to serve the kingdom and its allies against all manner of dangers. 'Duels against Auril' During the Fourth Winter War, Ronin battled the avatar of Auril on several occasions. He survived these duels, but was unable to slay her with mortal arms. Eventually, along with his companions, he would search the valley for the God Slayer arms. After finding the Sword of Chu Ling, the battle stood against the avatar for one last time just outside the Tymoran temple. He was fataly wounded during the battle, but with aid from Vaune , he returned to the fray and beheaded the avatar, marking the end of the Winter Wars for many. By the end of the Fourth Winter War, Ronin had began rallying his companions under the banner of the Astrid Knights , and with their aid took steps towards establishing its fortress and resources. Today, Astrid Keep stands as one of the strongest military positions in the entire valley. Over the next few decades, Ronin would rise through the ranks of knighthood and eventually attain the title of nobility. 'Ascent to Nobility' Following the conquest of Astrid, Ronin rallied his allies and pushed for the king to grant the mountain top to their newly formed Order of Astrid Knights. The king eventually gave in to the request, an act which dramatically alterned the political landscape of the entire valley. Within a year, Astrid Keep became one of the most well defended positions in the kingdom, with an elite army that outclassed all the nobles retainer forces. It also allowed Igrat Levi to establish the sanctuary town she had dreamed of for years. While establishing the keep, Ronin and Vaune would also make plans to create the Straeewood Eilistraeen sanctuary, expanding the Enclave's grounds into the cave network to accomidate the villiage. These plans would come to fruitation years later. Over the next several years, he and his wife continued to serve the kingdom. His deeds led to his being the first- and so far only- knight to attain the Order of the Beldin Mythal, the hieghest order of knighthood. After leading the war effort against Malarks Nedra Dominion in 1411, he was awarded the title of nobility. The Second Civil War A more detailed look at the Second Civil War can be found here. '' During the second Civil War, Ronin sided with Gerald Leonsmane, and was instrumental in his ascention to the throne. 'Apprentices' Over the years, Ronin has taken several apprentices. Not counting his own children, they are: 1. Korana Candillac Candillac was an agent from the Dragon Isle's who had previously murdered civilians in one of the outlying farms of Beldin. To avoid execution, she was conscripted into the Bounders, but the then- captain Keyna Fearthegn found that she could not control her either. Thus, when Ronin and his friends succesfully assassinated the Aurrilite general known as the Captain of the Storm, Keyna "rewarded" him by placing Korana as his squire. Some say this was in an effort to give her one more chance before she was executed, while others claim this was her execution, as Ronins reputation for being a butcher with zero tollorence even for members of the guild was becoming well known. Things went relatively smoothly for a few months, but eventually she was found to repeatedly ignore orders. In response, he killed her. 2. Nicktaska Levi His second apprentice fared somewhat better. He met Nicktaska Levi while searching the goblin mines , garbed in farmers clothing and armed with a stick. Nicktaska became impressed with the elf's fighting capabilities, and declared he wanted to train with him, which the elf accepted. Although their relationship would become strained over the years, Nicktaska proved to be an able swordsman, and by integrating his blade craft with his formidable magical prowess, moved on to become a knight of the realm. 3. Briana, Anton and Avery Ferret At the end of her expedition to Black Sun and the Fugue, Keyna Fearthegn decided to stay back in the Grey City as one of its Watchers. She gave her equipment to Briana's mother, Zilvra, and asked that she give them to Briana when she was old enough. This led to Zilvra requesting Ronin to train her daughter, saying she could think of no finer a master swordsman for the job. When Zilvra's twin boys Anton and Avery were old enough, they too were sent to Ronin for training. 4. L'harress Vrinn Nasadra Zilvra's adopted illythirii daughter. 5. Jinx During the vampire crisis of 1410-1411, a young drow elf named Jinx arrived in Beldin. After speaking with Vraeln, he was brought to the Eilistraeen Enclave, where Ronin was training its militia. The boy decided to join the militia, and started to train with them, but his abilities impressed Ronin so much that he offered to train the boy along side his other apprentices, rather than keep him as a guard. Eager to push his own boundries and join the other, more high profile adventurers, Jinx accepted, and has since trained alongside the rest of the Nasadra clan. Barnabas Ronin has a large pet wolf named Barnabas. He was found as a pup by his father and himself when they went on a hunting trip, lost or abandoned in the mountains of his home. They brought the pup back home and since then, the two have been neigh inseparable. One day in his youth, Ronin accidentally activated a pair of cursed Malarite gauntlets, unwittingly binding the wolf's life to his own, making it so that the wolf would never truly die unless Ronin himself were to perish. Although Ronin avoids bringing his pet into battle, the wolf is very capable and incredibly vicious. Barnabas is often employed to help pick up a trail if it is a particularly well concealed one. Eininfar insists that highland wolves from the spine of the world (such as Barnabas) are superior to wolves found elsewhere in the world. Whether this is at all based on any fact or simply his own belief is unconfirmed. Equipment and Description Ronin is fairly tall for an elf, with a muscular build. His eyes are strangely wolf like in appearance, with a predatory look about them. The few people who have seen him outside of his armor may have noticed strange tatoos on his upper arms of Uthgardt origin. These tatoos seem almost burnt into his arms, rather than inked in. 'Armor' He is almost always seen in his armor, prefering to be ready for combat wherever he goes. Currently, he wears a Black Dragon scale breastplate suit, enchanted to resist fire and aid in stealth movements. The forearms have blades running along the underside, and his dragon hide ogre power gloves have been enchanted to hold retractable adamantine claws. Completing the armor set are a pair of Forest Walker boots and a Spell-Breaker cloak, which wards against spells.He also wears a mask which allows him to see through illusions and other magical effects (true seeing). The suit was forged by Gerald Leonsmane and enchanted by Farnol D'Gren . He is also almost always wearing what appears to be a mithril deathmask, enchanted to allow him to see through illusions and invisibility spells. 'Weapons''' Ronin possessess one of the largest personal armories in the Kareyn, with a variety of blades both mundane and magical. His favored swords include Maelstrom, Nhilveth, Errdeventhan, Sserenian, Gale and the sword of Chu Ling. *Maelstrom Maelstrom is the kin blade of the Eininfar blood line. The blade of this katana is forged from darksteel, and its handle is made of a strange ivory like material with kara turan kanji glyphs etched into it and divided into two segments. Though the blade was imbued by extremely powerful storm magic from the day of its creation, many enchanters- mages and clerics alike- have further enchanted the blade over the centuries. In more recent years - that is Ronin's life time - Vaune enchanted the blade so that the electric arcs around the weapon would stun the wielders enemies. Originally, Maelstrom bore ice enchantments as well, though this power disappeared the day Ronin slew Auril's avatar. *Nhilveth Translating to "Terror Blade", this adamantine katana was forged and enchanted by Vaune , as many of Ronin's weapons are. This human bane blade is a near perfect example of sword craftsmanship, and its strikes send the wielders enemies into a hysterical panic. *The sword of Chu Ling (see full article ) * *Howling Wolf This longbow was crafted and enchanted by Mith Ischarri . Drawing the bow creates magical arrows that create incredibly strong sonic vibrations through their victims upon impact. *Sserenian Another katana crafted and enchanted by Vaune , Sserenian is one of Ronin's oldest swords. It is a human bane blade further enhanced by powerful fire and acid magic. *Gale This adamantine scimitar once belonged to the Aurrilite agent known as White Wolf . Unlike many Aurrilite weapons, Gale does not bear a cold enchantment, but this does not make it any less deadly. It an exceptionally well crafted storm blade. *Shooting Claws Mounted on top of each glove is a small rectangular metal box. These act as a type of dimentional holding cell, much like Magic Bags, only they house sets of adamantine claws. These claws are themselves enchanted so that they "shoot" copies of themselves. Claws fired from the right hand disrupt magical energies, while those from the left hand will stun and blind anyone they hit. *Gale, along with its counter part blade Blizzard, was confiscated from White Wolf when she was defeated by Ronin towards the end of the Fourth Winter War during a chance encounter in Aelfwood. Blizzard was later given to the Black Stilletos as ransom payment for the return of Avis Greenwood during the Knights Rebellion , but Gale remains in Ronin's posession as a trophy. Besides his katana's, Ronin carries a cylinder which extracts into an enchanted spear. On his person are several grenades, rods (one for protection and one to create a simulcrum) and shurikins.